At its peak, before Facebook eclipsed Orkut as the most popular social network in Brazil, Vostu was regarded as the Zynga of South America. With very few capable competitors, Vostu claimed that 25 per cent of Brazil's internet users played its games. It opened offices in Sao Paulo, Beunos Aires and New York City.

But in the more demanding environment of Facebook, the company's fortunes turned. According to AppData, Vostu now has just 2.3 million MAUs across a portfolio of more than 25 apps.

"Essentially, Vostu was unable to take risks and that brought the company down," a source said.